greyhead

Thanks for sharing this beautiful thing! Love, Mary

Is it IBS or IBD? How was it diagnosed? Was there a worm diagnosis that led to the use of Panacur? Is she on any monthly treatment? One of ours developed IBD at age 8-9 and required lots of meds. He put on weight well the first year, once the meds were allowed to do their work. We feed both kibble and raw, at separate meals, but venison is his only protein. And no grains. Now that he's 11, he's having more trouble gaining the weight he lost from this year's flares. But one thing that has worked very well to add calories and spark his interest in eating in the morning is Vanilla Ensure. We started slow, a third of a bottle per day, because it can lead to softer poop if too much is given too fast. Now he gets a whole bottle per day most days, a half-bottle at a time twice a day. We've also gone from three meals a day to four, two kibble/canned and two raw. If it's IBD, budesonide works well and just targets the gut, so you don't get the weight loss and other weird side effects that can happen with pred. It can affect the liver over time, but otherwise the main side effect is hair loss. We also used Flagyl and Tylan to good effect. Weekly flares are not good, obviously, so you might consider using one of these meds. I could probably write a book about IBD. So if you need or want more detailed info, just ask. And I can give better info with the info I requested above. But I don't know anything about IBS treatment.

Oh my, what an awful shock. I'm very sorry for your loss. He really was a beauty too.

That sounds scary and frustrating. I hope Stosh gets relief and you get some answers.

Good thing for Melody that you are who you are. Lots of prayers that things resolve well and that 5:00 and Ken get there very soon!

Sounds like the first thing you need is money! And previous vet records if you can get them. Sounds like he needs a complete blood work-up, a dental, and a sooner-than-later date with an acupuncture/chiropractic person. (I know a great one in Olympia if you want the name and contact info.) He could have lumbosacral stenosis or some other spinal issue, and that kind of treatment has worked so well for our 11-year-old with LS that you can hardly even tell he has it three years later. LS involves a lessening of nerve sensitivity that means they can't feel their feet as well or, as it progresses, their elimination needs. Hopefully, your group has funds for this kind of thing? Any chance you're with the GPA-NW group? I guess a lot of things are possible culprits, but these are the ones that jump out at me. Bless you for taking care of him!

Just seeing this, Xan. Happy to see he's doing better!

Spencer turns 11 this Friday and has been getting acupuncture/chiropractic treatments monthly for three years, for lumbosacral stenosis. He was knuckling, falling down if he tried to pivot on his bad back legs, and falling sideways when lifting a leg to pee. Last week the Dr. Stack test for LS was repeated, and he didn't sink in his back end at all! (I hadn't realized it until now, when I quizzed the docs about it, but that treatment can largely alleviate the condition, not just the discomfort!) Now we also x-rayed his spine and found a lot of arthritis in the verterbrae and a disk problem midway down the spine, though it still is being reviewed by a radiologist. We've had great results with Adequan for our other grey's arthritis, when oral glucosamine didn't do anything. His acupuncturist seemed to indicate that there's not much to do for his disk that doesn't involve surgery, which we're not putting him through at this age (and with all his other health problems). But we still need to see what the radiologist says the problem is exactly. I hope you can get a good diagnosis and treatment plan for Diesel. You should have a good sling to help him if he gets into trouble. If you need sources for slings, we can help you with that. Edited to correct typo above!

Our Shane had this sort of problem. When we had him tested for TBD's at the age of 7, it turned out he had Babesia. After we treated him for it, the problem disappeared. He would not only overheat easily and get very sluggish on even short walks, but pant for two hours afterward. His ears were also almost always warm. Hope those are some clues.

I skimmed the repsonses, but have you given any thought to why he does this? Could it be that something is bothering him so he's trying to get to any food he can? Is it behavioral or physical? I think your question is how to manage him when he's sick, but I'd want to know why he does this manic eating in the first place. Deirdre makes an excellent point. It's tempting to think it's just a dogs-will-be-dogs thing. But having a greyhound with malabsorption/diarrhea issues myself, I know it can be an intestinal problem. My dog was chewing wood (window sill, rocking chair) since there was no food to get into! If keeping cat food away from him doesn't solve the problem immediately, you should probably go to the H&M forum here and to the vet.

What is optimal varies dog to dog. It's best to observe what works for your dog and go with that.

Happy Gotcha Day, Alan!

So sorry your beautiful Copper had to go. He had a terrific life with you. :

What a shame he had to leave too young. Sounds like he was a fun, sweet, and handsome lad. My sympathies to Stella and all his people.

I believe the foster has passed on and can be found in Remembrance.

:f_red

: : :

I'm so sorry, Deb. You all did everything that could be done.

I'm so sorry.

Vanilla Ensure can help. Have to start with 1/3 or 1/2 bottle in a 12-24 hour period to avoid mushy poop. Sometimes it even jump-starts them to eat something. Hope others will have more solutions for you. ETA: I wonder if she picked up an intestinal bug that led to the diarrhea. If so, she'll need a good antibiotic. And I'm not implying anything, as I feed raw to my IBD dog. But it can happen. And when it does, you do get diarrhea, loss of appetite, and weight loss. For us, this kind of thing (SIBO) didn'[t show up in the blood work at all, not even elevated white count. Could only be diagnosed by a culture of the poop.

Yeah, I found that yelping, if not shrieking, did the trick. They just needed to know they were hurting me, when they did, and then they stopped doing those things. Well, except for jumping on my foot occasionally when they're excited and not watching their step!

{{{{Mary Pat}}}} So much love.